Guru Guru- Hinten

Guru Guru is a little less known than the biggest Krautrock bands, but they defiantly played a role in the scene. Founded in 1968, the band released what is generally considered their best album, UFO, as a debut in 1970. Hinten was the followup the next year, and Guru Guru's classic lineup of Mani Neumeier (drums), Uli Trepte (bass), and Ax Genrich (guitar). They were proponents of the free form freak-out Krautrock, similar to Amon Duul II or Faust. Known as ultra-liberals, they read some political philosophy during some of their concerts.

This album has 4 tracks, all 10 to 12 minutes in length. The opener "Electric Funk" charges right onto the scene with blaring jazz guitar. Going through many back and forth rushes of noise between the speakers, the track would not be out of place on a Jimi Hendrix album. Later on there's some funky bass and drumming with a Jazz rock feel, plus some warble sound effects. This song is followed by "The Meaning of Meaning", which has a slow to moderate tempo, but goes everywhere with screeching from guitars. This one can get a little bit tiring by the end of it's 12 minutes of droning.

Side B gives us "Bo Diddly", which is another long form jam. This one takes on a bluesy feel. It also moves around through some sup rising cycles centering around a few central riffs. This is the most typically Krautrock song here. "Space Ship" closes out the album, and it takes a totally different turn than the other tracks. It begins as tape collage of spacey sound effects, feedback, and electronics. Defiantly not one for the faint of heart late at night.

With an album like Hinten, you're going to either love it or hate it. While many would find its fuzzy, gritty approach off-putting, I think most Prog fans would enjoy it for the depth and alien qualities. This album defiantly has a lot to offer, even if in a strange and withered package.

Straddling the border between Krautrock, Jazz, and Prog, Hinten is worth checking out. Grade: B

Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here

I have an excess of Pink Floyd albums waiting to be reviewed, so let's get another of their big ones out of the way. After The Dark Side of the Moon catapulted the Floyd into international stardom, they went through ideas about what they wished to do with the follow up. One idea tossed around was making an album entirely out of sound effects from household objects. That fell through, and instead they opted for a more straightforward album similar to Dark Side. As a result, Wish You were Here came about, released in 1975. This album's central thematic ideas include an attack on the music industry, and a tribute to their old band mate, Syd Barret, a victim of schizophrenia. Both of these tie in to the isolationist ans existentialist themes prevalent on Dark Side.

Waters, Wright, and Gilmore got together and wrote the 25 minute "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" (Pink Floyd's longest song), divided into 9 parts. The first 5 open the album, while the last 4 close it. Part one is a trippy and sparse synthesizer workout. For parts two and three, the guitar and drums come in to add some bombast to the sound, foreshadowing Animals and The Wall while remaining distinctly Dark Side. Part 4 sees the vocal tribute to Syd, and Part 5 has a great Sax workout. The other portion of the A side of the record is the haunting "Welcome to the Machine". The band opts for a totally alien, disjointed, and dehumanizing feel as the lyrics attack the record industry. Both great songs.

Flip the record, and you'll get treated to "Have A Cigar." While not really all that prog in terms of structure or attitude, this anti-corporate track is amongst Floyd's best for it's fun guitar and bass riffs. The title track comes next. Incredibly famous for both funerals and guitar lessons, it's a reflective acoustic guitar solo, and one of the best known Floyd songs. Then, we close out with the last 4 parts of "Shine On". Parts 6, 8, and 9 are a mix of themes from parts 1 and 2, and Part 7 reprises part 4.

There's a story that after not seeing the band for 8 years, Syd showed up to visit during the sessions for his tribute album. Like Barret, Wish You Were Here conveys an empty world wherein everyone is pushed into a corner and can't function. At times clastrophbic, and at times as open as the vaccum of space, Wish's music perfectly matches its lyrical message in a wonderfull marriage of music.

Another Masterpeice from the Floyd. 9.5/10.

Critique Me

So, I've been doing this blog for 7 1/2 months now, and I think I've given out a good display of what I like to write about. I don't however, know what you want to read about. Therefore, I'm making it open season on myself. Please comment on this post and answer the following questions:

• Are you enjoying my articles? Why or why not?
• Do you like the album reviews, the articles, or both?
• Which subgeneres are of interest to you the most?
• I had a whooping 1 vote for my next Nation of the month. (U.S.A prog month is scheduled for April.) Should I just ditch the concept?
• Any suggestions to make the blog better?

Thanks in advance! I really would like your input in where I take the blog next!

The Evolution of Live Prog

I've been watching old concerts on Youtube recently, and I've noticed a cool anomaly:

Pink Floyd, 1969


Curved Air, 1971


Genesis, 1973


Jethro Tull, 1977


Camel, 1984


It seems like the more Prog aged, the more the light shows went away! If you search, you can find videos of prog musicans playing just in suits without any theatrics all over the place as early as 1970.

Renaissance- Turn of The Cards

Growing out of the ashes of the Yardbirds, Renaissance began as a psychedelic band. Then, but the end of album #2, the entire original lineup was long gone. Left instead was a medieval music influenced symphonic prog band. Most notable was the 5 octave vocal range of Annie Haslam, and the other members were Michael Dunford (guitar [acoustic only]), John Tout (piano), Jon Camp (bass), and Terry Sullivan (drums). This is the 5th Renaissance album, sent to shelves in 1974.

The first song is called "Running Hard", which features a 2 minute grand piano introduction before spending the rest of then 9:20 with a melodramatic, symphonic ballad/epic, displaying Haslam's vocals in all of their glory. They also make use of violins, and the fast tempo creates a chivalrous feel. Next up is "I Think of You", a guitar ballad and, although, brief, one of the best prog rock love songs out there. From there, they go into "Things I don't Understand", which uses strained vocals, drums and jarred piano to suggest Claustrophobia. A very strange piece, and the least symphonic-prog one on here. At the end, it resembles "Running Hard", though. With that, Side A ends.

"Black Flame" is a slower than the songs on side A. It offers more of the minstrel ballad fare, but even goes for the harpsichord! Lots of medieval cred there. Afterwards comes "Cold is Being", which is a haunting piece with just Haslam's ghoulish vocal and a church organ. Creepy. To wrap it up is the epic centerpiece "Mother Russia." While the time it lasts is a difference of just 1 second, it feels like a drawn out version of "Running Hard". The lyrics have to due with the supression of the arts in the Soviet Union.

There's a lot to offer here. The medieval feel is attempted often in prog, but rarely executed with such definitive presence. Renaissance sounds fresh and vibrant. However, there is a distinct lack of variety here. I'm also not quite sure why they have a bassist, because he's buried so low in the mix you can't even hear him with headphones. Also, without him they'd be 100% acoustic, which is pretty cool for the electronic heavy progressive rock.

An energetic and distinctive record, I'd give this one thumbs up and a recomenation. Grade: B+